Just when I thought there couldn’t be anything better for your pre-Apocalypse workout than the Warrior Dash, I stumbled across Run for Your Lives, a zombie obstacle race.

Yes, that’s right. You can run an apocalyptic 5K complete with zombies as part of your training regime. What could be perfect?

Participants will dodge, weave, climb, and crawl their way through the infected zone to get to the finish. While the race claims it’s a 5K be warned – there are several ways to get to the finish, some of which may end up being a lot more of a workout than you bargained for (up to 10K!). This race is about brains and brawn as you try to find the fastest way to the safe zone with a pack of zombies on your tail.

For those of you who want the zombie experience without getting high on bath salts, you can register to be one of the undead trying to attack the helpless racers making their way through the course. The zombies try to hunt down the racers and grab their “health flags” before they reach the safe zone. Sadly the race doesn’t involve the real undead, but that would make logistics a bit difficult.

The entire thing wraps up with an Apocalypse Party, which features booze, food, zombie-themed games, zombie gear, and all other things zombie related. Your unfit friends and family members can skip the race and head straight to the party, but wouldn’t it be better to encourage them to train with you? The race could even be used as a valuable educational tool to highlight why it is so important for them to get into shape when facing the approaching apocalypse

The only issue I have with this race is choosing whether to run as a participant or a zombie. Clearly the participants will be provided with an excellent chance to test their overall fitness level and escape skills, which could be the difference between surviving and becoming another of the undead. However, I can also see the benefit of joining the zombie tribe. Consider it your chance at an inside view into how the zombies will try to track you done. Following the race, you can take these insights and apply them to your survival strategy to increase your chances of making it when the real thing occurs.

Or you can hope that the apocalypse holds off for long enough that you have time to run the race twice. Either way, I’m definitely going to incorporate this into my training schedule. Hope to see you there!

-Kennedy

Meet the Authors

We are not survival experts. We are just two modern urbanites sharing our experiences as we prepare for the apocalypse. Find out why we think it's coming, what to expect, and how to survive using all your 21st century know-how!